The Seamy Side of Attack Journalism

The newly elected government of Nawaz Sharif may be enjoying less trouble with the media than his predecessor, but it should not be thought that he has been given a pass by the political attack dogs in media. A case in point is Sajid Zia’s piece, ‘The seamy side of NA-120, a tour through PM Nawaz Sharif’s constituency‘ published by The Nation on 17th July.

In the piece, Sajid Zia describes the sad conditions of the PM’s constituency which comprises The Mall as well as neighbourhoods like Band Road, Ameen Park, Sandha, Krishan Nagar and Sanat Nagar. According to The Nation‘s reporter, the problems faced by the people of NA-120 ‘are nowhere close to being solved even with Nawaz Sharif in government’.

Is this a fair and accurate depiction of reality? Nawaz Sharif took the oath of Prime Minister only six weeks ago! Does the reporter expect that Mian Nawaz has some magic ability to solve the problems of poverty, load shedding, and filthy water in a matter of days only?

The question should also be asked what headline would appear in The Nation if Nawaz Sharif turned NA-120 into an earthly paradise. Would we not then see the same type of attacks that were published against the previous PMs, blasting them for spending on development in their electoral constituencies ‘at the cost of development in other areas of the country’? It would seem that PM Sharif is finding himself at the mercy of a typical media ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t!’ scheme.

Whether out of political bias or sensationalism, there seemed to be no end to the attacks against the previous government. Now we see that the same yellow journalism is being used against the newly elected government even before it has had a chance to make its own fate.

Enough is enough. If we are going to be able to solve the problems facing our nation, no matter what constituency they are in, we need to be made aware of facts and authentic situations, not sensational political attacks.

It is almost cruel to say that Nawaz Sharif is elected from this NA-120 just a week back.

The truth is that Sharif family is using this area as their fiefdom since 4 decades. They have been selected, elected from the area but have singularly failed in providing even the basic amenities to the electorate.